The grand prize, of course, is A-Rod. Everything about Mr. Moneybags going to the Dodgers makes sense — they could use a reliable third baseman as well as a mighty bat, he would quickly become the biggest star in the second-largest media market in the country (assuming Kobe Bryant is shipped out as expected, and David Beckham continues to toil in gimpy obscurity), the region has a large Latino population, and signing him would be a major slap at the Angels down the freeway.

The money does not make sense. It’s somewhat of a shock that the Dodgers would even consider signing someone like Torre — who made $7 million last year to $600,000 for Little — to be their manager. A-Rod and his agent, Scott Boras, want to set records with his next contract. They want CEO golden-parachute money, times three.

That’s not McCourt’s M.O. His tendency is to overcharge for everything — tickets, parking, concessions — then field a team that purports to be competitive but is in reality just a flea market collection of cheap youngsters and down-on-their-luck veterans. The Dodgers signing A-Rod would be like your local diner hiring Mario Batali as a cook.

Yet if McCourt really has designs on his Dodgers becoming the Yankees West, he needs to do more than hire Torre and Mattingly while impetuously firing the occasional underling. He needs to send tremors through the sports world, like George Steinbrenner. He doesn’t need to prattle on about excellence and tradition without backing it up, like Hank Steinbrenner.

Torre indeed will help. His mere presence in the dugout will raise the credibility level beyond the upper deck. And if anyone can mend the geezer-punk rift that ripped apart the clubhouse last season, it’s Torre. He is to major leaguers what Jerry West is to NBA players.

But if the Dodgers want to make a Yankee-like statement, they have to go hard after A-Rod, and perhaps even Posada and Rivera. Back when George Steinbrenner could remember that he was George Steinbrenner, that’s the way he would have done it.

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